Things you don't need to know…

What city in proximity of Sydney is more laid back, of large enough size and worth visiting?

None!! Sydney is like New York, Toronto and other large business centric cities. For laid back cities you need Brisbane, Gold Coast, or up the top Cairns.

Hmm, for laid backness best city is probably Perth - Darwin isn't big enough nor I think is Cairns and its full of tourists! Sorry Corwin but I have lived at times in lived in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth & Adelaide and think Perth is the right mix over 1 million people, very very isolated with amazing beaches, nearby scenery, winery areas, etc. etc. No, I don't wont to move there too $$ and also Melbourne has much more cultural things and better coffee!

I have no issue with Perth at all, except, as you said, it's very isolated from the rest of the country. It's also expensive to fly there and back from the east coast cities.

Sometimes really weird things happen in life that simply don't make sense. You have no idea if it is some kind of luck, like a lottery, or if there's some kind of scientific explanation, such as diet and exercise, for why the unusual occurs. But once every few months a perfect shit will manage to find it's way out of your body, causing 48 hours of unexpected life bliss and jubilation. Like one has been blessed for good behavior.

Just what is this perfect shit? It's one of those ones where you feel a bit bloated and so travel to the bathroom as per routine, magazine in hand, bottom wobbling in a most unmanly way, and take your place upon the throne - Once seated, to your wondrous surprise, the whole piece zooms out in one effortless slide, dropping into the basin like an olympic diver on top form, barely breaking the water below, a massive wave of release and relaxation shivering through your body.

And then you grab the toilet roll and… nothing. You don't trust your first wipe so you have another go. Nothing again. What is this devilry? You think to yourself as you triple and quadruple check the area with ever more pedantry. Until, finally, you have the unbelievable delight of realizing you've just had one of life's perfect shits. As you make a little prayer of thanks to the Gods you start to try and memorize your last 48 hours intake of food and exercise, just in case there is that slight off chance that this miracle could, in some way, be made a permanent fixture of your life…

As I suspected: a shitposter.

Originally Posted by Corwin
None!! Sydney is like New York, Toronto and other large business centric cities. For laid back cities you need Brisbane, Gold Coast, or up the top Cairns.

I was thinking of going to one that is accessible through a few hours by bus, anything that would fit the bill?

Everything in Oz is a long trip away and while there are buses going everywhere, there are very few short trips. Avoid Sydney and commute between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, thats a 2 hour journey and probably the shortest between 2 major centres anywhere in the country!!

Hilarious.

"There's this overwhelming urge to over-promise because it's such a harsh rule: If you're one penny short of your target then you don't get it," he said. "And of course in this instance, the behavior is incredibly destructive, which is, 'Christ, we've only got 10 days to go and we've got to make £100,000, for f*ck's sake, let's just say anything'. So I'm not sure I would do that again."

This coming from the master snake-oil salesman himself. I guess who better to know all this.

Originally Posted by lackblogger
Sometimes really weird things happen in life that simply don't make sense….

Awesome definition of a perfect shit product!
One of my goals in life is to experience this blissfull event every day.
So far I am pretty pleased with results, although it requires much effort.
Consuming fruit and only fruit (esp. kiwi) for breakfast and excersise (esp. yoga) helps.
But I have a long way to go to achieve toilet paper-less existence.

Originally Posted by Corwin
Everything in Oz is a long trip away and while there are buses going everywhere, there are very few short trips. Avoid Sydney and commute between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, thats a 2 hour journey and probably the shortest between 2 major centres anywhere in the country!!

That seems like my best bet, thanks. I'll probably make a short stay there while I'm in Sydney.

There are long distances between the biggest Canadian cities as well.

Originally Posted by kopija
Awesome definition of a perfect shit product!
One of my goals in life is to experience this blissfull event every day.
So far I am pretty pleased with results, although it requires much effort.
Consuming fruit and only fruit (esp. kiwi) for breakfast and excersise (esp. yoga) helps.
But I have a long way to go to achieve toilet paper-less existence.

I have no idea what the product thing is about, lol, but, yes, consuming the fibre solves the first half of the puzzle, but, more often than not, the easier the travel, the more the paper. What is that perfect balance! I'm glad we can exclude yoga from the solution, gives me a sore bum sitting like that for too long.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
That seems like my best bet, thanks. I'll probably make a short stay there while I'm in Sydney.

There are long distances between the biggest Canadian cities as well.

I do know that; I did grow up there and my family all still live there!!

ORION!!!!

pibbur who unfortunately has to loosen his belt a bit

I wondered why my desktop computer is shutting most of its programs off all the time when I was not there. I then discovered that my cats keep jumping on top of it and accidentally press on the power button on the top of the case with their paws.

It still doesn't beat my oldest cat, who had ended up learning how to get my attention by jumping on my desk and shutting down my monitor by rubbing his head against its power button.

Get yourself a copy of 101 Things to do with a Dead Cat!! I believe it's available from AMazon.

Regarding Oz, I visited there about a 10 years ago. One of my favorite trips, we went to New Zealand first actually followed by a trip to Brisbane (where we did some day trips and went to down to the Gold Coast). Loved most of it except the Big Pineapple which was a tourist trap and bundled together with the Australian Zoo. We flew up to Cairns and did some snorkeling and rainforest excursions followed by a trip to Alice Springs/Uluru and finally to Sydney before returning to the states. Would have traded Alice Springs for Melbourne if I could do it again though I have some fond memories of the sunset and starry nights. At the time, it was a 3 week trip and was US$4k/person complete with airfare and car rentals. What I remember was the beer and wine was awesome, the beaches (and women) gorgeous and there is nothing fun about a pineapple farm or driving on the wrong side of the road.

I find my computer also has a tendency to be shutdown or restarted and cannot explain it. I don't have pets and currently live alone… Maybe the ghosts or cats breaking in through the upstairs window.

I had the results of my blood test yesterday: the drug succeeds very well in curbing the hormone and there are no side effects whatsoever. This is great news!

However I am disappointed because I thought it would rid me of a lot of my tiredness and lethargy but it is all still there. I am pretty fed up of living with zero energy no matter what I do. It seems I will have to live with it.

I had to live all my adult life in such a state, although it used to be much worse and I used to be a total hermit since I was in so much pain.

However looking at what I have today, I have a house, a beautiful and loving wife, two children with a third one on the way, two cats, a good job that is important for my country, a few reliable friends, some hobbies which help me not get too discouraged when the situation gets to me… I think in the end I did more than OK in life in spite of the hand I was dealt.

An truly remarkable kind of animals : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara

How Much Does a Shadow Weigh?

(this guy has a lot of cool videos)